Pumpkin spice has become something of an autumn attention hog. It’s loud, it’s flashy, and it’s everywhere. It should come as no surprise that the Double Take Salsa family leans more toward soup than PSL this time of year, and not only because we’re excellent at putting our produce to work.
If you had a particularly productive tomato harvest this year, you might find yourself wondering: Now what? We’d suggest you try making salsa, but a) that’s just bad for business and b) we’ve got you covered. Tomato soup is a great way to put all of those extra tomatoes to good use, and adding a healthy number of dashes of our Carolina Reaper hot sauce is a total and transcendent game-changer.
This recipe from the August 2015 issue of Bon Appétit (by Joshua McFadden) is a current favorite.
Here’s what you’ll need:
2 thick slices country-style bread, torn into bite-size pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, cut into wedges
Carolina Reaper hot sauce, to taste
1 cup baby arugula
1 ounce Pecorino, shaved
The soup:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss bread with 2 tablespoons oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Bake, tossing halfway through, until golden brown and crunchy, 8–10 minutes; set croutons aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onion, garlic, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft, 5–7 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until they just start to release their juices, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Transfer tomato mixture to a blender and blend until smooth; taste and add hot sauce to your liking. Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle soup with more oil and top with arugula, Pecorino, and croutons.
Double Take pro tip: While the above method works perfectly well, using an immersion blender seriously cuts down on prep time.